Cruising For Health CareAmong recent Canadian news stories sent to us by our friend Rod in B.C.
was one entitled,
Come for the flu shot, stay for the beauty.
Perhaps taking pity on their poor cousins south of the border, Clipper
Navigation has put together a day cruise Seattle to Victoria package which, for
105 dollars, includes a flu shot. A company official says the "phones have been
ringing off the hook."

Todayís Kansas City Star reports on an uninsured
American in need of heart surgery who traveled to India for the operation beyond
his means at home. His total cost, including round-trip airfare, was ten
thousand dollarsĖabout five percent of the price here. Guess Indian doctors
donít have to worry about junk lawsuits.

The Weirdest Election Ever Update
Ralph Naderís running mate, Peter Camejo, has asked that his name not appear
with Naderís on the New York ballot line of the Independence Party. This
right-wing flotsam fragment, recently taken over by a bizarre cult, the New
Alliance Party, joined with the Reform Party, abandoned by H Ross Perot and Pat
Buchanan, in endorsing Nader. Nader was happy that he could use their ballot
access. The lonely rightists hope Nader will get enough votes to keep their line
on the ballot. Democracy in action.

Socialist Worker, perhaps Naderís most
energetic campaigners, condemned Naderís deals with the loony right as a "wrong
turn." However, they continue to say, "The independent campaign of Ralph Nader
and Peter Camejo represents the only significant and uncompromising left-wing
alternative to the Washington status quo in Election 2004."

Russian Courts Put Pushy Guests In
Their Place
Free enterprise recently took another giant leap forward in the former Soviet
Union as judges in Omsk outlawed a labor union. Their basis for doing so was
that most union members were "guest" workers from China. Being foreigners they
were not entitled to the paper rights Russian citizens supposedly enjoy. There
are 800,000 Chinese guests currently working in Russia. That such numbers of
Chinese have chosen to immigrate to a country where millions have not been paid
their wages for months also says something about the current situation in that
other former workers stateĖand now "most favored nation" trading partner.

If Youíre Black, Drop Back
Probably no body was surprised that a study of the
Wealth of Hispanic Households showed
hard times for Latino working class families. Perhaps more shocking was this
finding: "A similar picture emerges for Black households in recent years. The
differences are that the net worth of Blacks is even less than that of Hispanic
households and that it fell by more from 1999 to 2002. At the same time, the
wealth of White households continued to grow, albeit at a slower pace than
before the recession."

The reason for
this reversal of status for victims of discrimination is that millions of Blacks
lost well paying union blue collar and public sector jobs that are now gone for
good. Traditional Latino employment in service and agricultural sector jobs,
though poorly paid and unpleasant work, are more stable.

The twin
problems of discrimination and globalized economic restructuring mean a bleak
future for both Black and Brown workers. While these challenges have been
thoroughly studied and well documented they remain largely absent from the
American political agenda. The working class as a whole needs to make these
issues the concern of all.

Event Calendar
Donít forget to check out the KC Labor Events Calendar.
You can also post labor-related events yourself on this feature. If you have any
problems or questions concerning the calendar send us a message at:
calendar@kclabor.org.